The field of the invention is generally rechargeable battery packs commonly used in electronic devices. Electronic devices, particularly mobile electronic devices such as notebook computers, utilize battery packs to provide power to the device at times when the device is used without a fixed power source (e.g. AC wall outlet).
Current battery packs are designed as rechargeable. Over time, conventional rechargeable battery packs wear out; i.e. they lose the ability to hold the same amount of charge as when new. This is a natural consequence of cycling (charging and discharging) the battery. Conventional rechargeable battery packs are currently designed either to hold maximum charge in the cells and have a life span of approximately 1.5 years or use special firmware that controls the charging algorithms to obtain a longer life cycle battery pack at the expense of runtime and/or charging time (i.e. conventional battery packs having a 3 year/1000 cycle rating use the special firmware for reduced charging).
The inventors have recognized that at design time, there is an either or decision regarding battery cell charging level and life cycle extension. That is, the inventors have recognized that there are currently no battery packs that can dynamically switch between these tradeoffs and benefits.